Our Hero, Judy
by rainbowthefox
Summary: Judy receives some cards for her heroism, and Nick takes this chance to ask her out. (Wildehopps, Nick/Judy.)


Today was going to be another one of _those_ days, it seemed. 24 hours consisting of nothing but filing paperwork and police reports. A full day of being stuck in her office enduring the constant chitter-chatter of her fox partner and the other ridiculing things he'd be doing to her while she worked. Not that she usually minded his interference, but they tended to be a bit annoying when she had _actual_ work to do.

Judy Hopps hated being off-duty. She strove for the excitement of usual police work, even when it came down to the most trivial of cases. She yearned for the moments she could use her gun, and she especially craved the important cases she'd be assigned to every now-and-then. But being off-duty was an invitation for a bore fest. Judy would actually admit to enjoying _meter duty_ over _off-duty_.

Nick Wilde knew this well. He had grown to know and understand nearly everything about his partner after working with her for a year now. That's what made his teasing and flirting with her so easy to do. She had special things she nitpicked, and he _loved_ pointing them out. To him, it was lighthearted fun. To her, they were horrible grievances. And Nick _loved_ being an annoyance.

So when he entered their office and found his bunny appearing rather sluggish, he just HAD to point it out. "-Long night, Officer Hopps?"

"Be quiet, Nick." Judy retorted. "I only had a TV dinner last night. I'm not in the best mood."

The fox's ears drooped momentarily, but rose back up once he rounded the corner. "Well, why didn't you say so? I could've treated you out for breakfast this morning. I know you _love_ waking up early."

Judy opened her mouth to either lay a sarcastic or witty comment to him, but shut it. Her purple eyes scanned the ceiling in thought and shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow, I guess."

His eyebrows quirked, but Nick didn't say anything. He'd been trying to lay subliminal dates with her for a week now. He didn't outright call them "dates", but more as…"alone time". Judy proved to be quite blind with this type of flirting, as she'd deny them without much thought and would come up with excuses so they _wouldn't_ have to spend time together. Not that it bothered him - but he was getting a bit impatient beating the bush.

He spoke slowly. "As a d-"

 _"Officer Hopps!"_

The two of them stood up straight as they heard Chief Bogo's voice sound from the offices. The buffalo soon came into their office holding stacks of paper in his hands. Both Judy and Nick groaned at this. They knew very well that it was what they needed to file today. Which was why they weren't surprised when he laid down a hearty stack of papers on both of their desks without a word.

Before he left the office, Judy held a paw up in their air. "Wait, Chief Bogo!"

The buffalo stopped in his tracks and paused, turning back to look at her. It was then that Nick realized he still had some more papers in his hands, which he seemed to be trying to tuck out of view.

"Yes, Hopps?" He asked, his voice heavy as usual.

"What are those other papers you're carrying?" She asked. "Are they for us, or-"

"These are actually for _you_." He replied, briskly turning and handing them out to her. "I was going to go throw them away, but if you insist on having them, then so be it."

Judy gave her chief a confused look before slowly taking them from out his hands. Nick couldn't help but try and peek over to look at them. Some of the papers were crumbled and worn, so they certainly couldn't be any files or reports. Bogo almost always kept his papers preserved, sometimes so fresh the fox couldn't tell if he just printed them out or if they had been laying on his desk for days to an end.

The bunny flipped through the papers and opened her jaw in awe. She appeared to be fascinated with what on them. From what Nick could see, there wasn't an ounce of text on them, which was quite the peculiarity. Her look actually reminded the fox of their infamous "Night Howler" case, when she learned the truth about what had actually happened.

"Chief…what _are_ these?" She asked. Bogo crossed his arms and looked down at her sternly.

"They're cards made from the children in schools all around Zootopia. I suppose they've been looking up to you as a role model of some sort, what with you being the first bunny cop on the team."

Judy blinked. "But…these are dated a year ago, sir."

"Ah, yes. I meant to give them to you _then_ , but I forgot. Be grateful I didn't throw them in the trash like I wanted to."

The buffalo gave his two officers a dismissive nod as he exited their cubicle. Nick walked over to Judy and finally got a good look at the papers for himself. There were various drawings on top of them, made either in crayon or colored pencils. Obvious signs that young children had made them. There were scribbles of Judy all over them as well as messy handwriting on the cards.

Nick smiled as he watched the bunny grin. She looked absolutely ecstatic, flipping through them even faster as she read what was on them. He could only presume that they were hopeful messages, like she was an inspiration or something. Things he could probably agree on. He admitted it to her before, but he actually admired Judy for the things she'd done, despite teasing her about it so many times in the past.

"Nick, can you believe this!?" She jumped over to him, handing him a card. "These kids _look up to me!_ Some of them are little bunnies, too!"

The fox glanced at the card he gave her. He tried to look as unimpressed as possible as he read what was on it. The message was short, but it held a lot of meaning. A kid wrote about how he looked up to Judy and that he wishes he could be a cop someday, too. Nick had to fight the smile tugging on the end of his lips as he shrugged and handed it back to her.

"Big deal," He said. "I get cards like these all the time."

Judy took the piece of paper from him and gave her partner a look. She clearly didn't believe him, which was a good thing because he was lying.

"Seriously! Do you know how exciting this is for me? Kids in Zootopia are idolizing me! I…I never thought this could happen!"

Her last exclamation came out a bit too loud, and a loud pattern of ' _shh_ 's ensued around them by the other predators in the office. Judy cringed as she looked over at Nick, who smiled and shrugged. The bunny took a last look of the cards and sighed. Her next tone of voice was much quieter.

"My mom and dad are going to be so proud…" She murmured.

"I'm sure they already are, Carrots." Nick slyly wrapped his arm around her. "How's about a celebratory dinner tonight? With me?"

"You sure you can afford that, Nick?" Judy nudged his side. "I've seen what you buy in your free time, Mr. _Two-Dollar Ties Wilde_."

" _Hey._ " The fox held his paws in the air defensively. "The tie is only _part_ of my getup. And I'll have you know that I own some very expensive pieces of clothes, Ms. _I-Wear-The-Same-Jacket-For-Two-Days-At-A-Time Hopps_."

"Mine was shorter." She teased.

"Mine was _better_ ," He corrected.

Judy gave him a smile and crushed her ears back. He couldn't help but notice that her purple eyes were glistening now. He always thought she was beautiful, but man did she take the icing off the cake when she was happy. The bunny suddenly looked away from him and hopped over to her desk, setting the cards on top of it and started to file the paperwork for the day.

Nick widened his eyes at this and frowned. "Hey, I didn't get an answer!"

"I thought you already knew?" She passed him a smile. The fox stared at her for a few moments until he caught on.

"Oooohh. My bad, Judy. I'll pick you up at seven?"

She debated it, coyly resting a finger on her cheek in thought. "Mmmmmm…..eight. I want time to dress for my sly fox~"

Something in the fox's chest heated. His tail flicked in excitement, and he quickly rose it down out of her view. He felt a bit embarrassed at this but it was gone as soon as it came. He always liked that nickname she gave him - it went back long ways. To hear it leaving her mouth so coquettishly somehow excited him.

He lowered his eyelids and replied, "That'd be great, my dumb bunny."

Judy smirked and continued filing the paperwork. Even her own heart was beating extra fast in her chest just now. She's always had a crush on Nick, and that was probably because of his sly and easygoing nature. Apart of her doubted his feelings for her, but now she could confirm it. Why else would he be inviting her to dates left-and-right?

"I always knew you loved me." He teased. He went over to his own desk and started his work, passing his bunny partner a wink. Judy blushed and looked away from him.

"Yeah…I do."


End file.
